When All The World's Asleep
by vjp732
Summary: Tony discovers something unusual while looking at some videos. Inspired by Marble Hornets. Tony and Fornell friendship.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: This idea came to me during a period of paranoia induced insomnia that occurred after watching the YouTube serial "MarbleHornets". This story is a combination of sorts between MarbleHornets and NCIS, although it focuses entirely on the NCIS characters, I'm using some of the ideas from MarbleHornets. **

**For those of you who have not watched MarbleHornets, I will provide a bit of background. The story follows two college students who are making a film. While filming, they are plagued by appearances of a mysterious, faceless, tall man in a business suit. This man is known as the Operative, and whenever he appears, there is audio and visual distortion, the characters suffer from bouts of coughing and memory gaps. If you enjoy suspense/horror things, I really recommend the series.**

**Anyways, this story will mention (and possibly depict) slash, as well as abuse, self-harm, abduction, and any other number of horrible things that I haven't yet thought of. Pairings will include Abby/McGee, Tony/Gibbs, McGee/Gibbs, and a Tony/Fornell Friendship.**

**This takes place sometime in season 8, and will probably include spoilers up to that point.**

**I don't own NCIS, MarbleHornets, or any of the other pop culture references that I will inevitably end up including.**

**Story has not been beta-read, or proofread except by me. All mistakes are mine. If you would like to volunteer your services, please let me know.**

**I apologize for this long rambling author's note. Shall we proceed to the actual story?**

Anthony DiNozzo Jr awoke to the shrill ringing of his phone. He burrowed under the blankets for a moment, before realizing that his boss was the only one who would phone him at four in the morning, and that he really should answer it. But the bed was so warm and comfy, and Tony didn't want to leave his safe haven.

The ringing increased in volume, and DiNozzo finally rolled over and answered the offending object.

''Okay, boss, I'm awake now. What do you need?''

''It's not Gibbs,'' a female voice stated. ''It's Vivian Blackadder.''

''Viv?'' Tony asked incredulously. ''It's been almost nine years. Why are you phoning me so early in the morning?''

Tony heard something that sounded like a sob. ''I think I screwed up,'' Viv cried quietly.

''Are you hurt? Where are you?''

''No, I'm not hurt. I don't know where I am. I can't remember how I got here.''

''Are you still with the FBI? Why don't you contact them?'' Tony had jumped out of bed and started putting on clothes.

''The FBI can't help me. No one can.'' Vivian was actively sobbing into the phone.

''Viv, can you describe your location? I'll come get you.''

''I just needed someone to know. You were always so helpful, and you seemed to like me. I'm sorry I dragged you into this. Just go back to bed, and forget that this ever happened. Everything would be so much simpler that way, if we could all just forget. I wish that I could just forget, let it all-'' Viv's rambling was interrupted by a coughing fit.

''Vivian? Just stay calm. I'm going to help you.'' Tony grabbed his keys and ran out of his apartment. He barrelled down the stairs and erupted on to the pavement of the parking lot.

The coughing was drowned out by a loud crackling. Tony pulled the phone away as the distortion threatened to deafen him. After a few seconds, the buzzing subsided, and Tony put the phone back to his ear. He was greeted with silence.

''Vivian? Viv, are you there?''

But there was nothing.

Tony stared at his phone. What was going on? Vivian had been on the line only seconds before. Slowly, Tony flipped the phone shut, ending the call. He then opened it again, and hit redial.

The phone rang once before there was a response. _We're sorry, but the number you are trying to contact is no longer in service._

Discouraged and confused, Tony put the phone away. He was still standing in the parking lot, and the morning air was chilly. He thought about going back to bed, but he conceded that he would be unable to sleep.

After a few moments of deliberation, Tony decided that he would probably be most productive at work, where he could try tracking down the last known location of Vivian Blackadder. With that thought in mind, Tony quickly returned to his apartment to grab his service weapon and wallet. He also grabbed some fruit, which he would eat once he arrived at the naval yard.

The office was unusually empty, even for 04h30. Normally there was at least one team trying to solve a hot case. But that morning, there was no one except the cleaning crew.

Tony sat down at his desk with a small sigh, and munched on an apple while waiting for his computer to power up. After doing a few menial tasks, such as deleting an email about a sexual harassment seminar, Tony settled down to do some real work.

He opened the NCIS search database, and entered "Vivian Blackadder" into the search parameters. Tony was shocked when the search got zero results. There wasn't even a driver's license, or her records with NCIS. There was nothing, as if she didn't exist.

Tony tried entering the number for the phone she had used that morning, but that also garnered no results.

DiNozzo tried the same thing with a wide variety of databases, including FBI and Interpol. After getting no hits, he hit his monitor in frustration. He put his head in his hands and sighed angrily. Had he dreamt up the whole episode? But his phone held proof that he had received a call from an unknown number that morning. Thank god that his phone kept records of all incoming and outgoing calls.

Tony sat up with a bolt. Hadn't he always said that good old police work would always triumph over technology? Whatever Viv was mixed up in, they could erase all electronic records, but there was no way that they could destroy all the paper copies.

Encouraged by his sudden enlightenment, Tony ran down the stairs to archives, and signed out the personnel records for the past ten years. It was only 05h30, and he still had at least an hour until other people started arriving at work. He carried the heavy box back up to his desk and placed it on the floor.

Tony quickly sat down, and began the long tiring task of finding the elusive Vivian Blackadder.

Leroy Jethro Gibbs arrived to work in a good mood. No one else knew it, but Gibbs and McGee were dating, and had been for a few months. Last night had been particularly satisfying, and Gibbs couldn't keep the contented smirk off his face.

However, Gibbs' happy expression quickly dissipated when he exited the elevator and noticed his senior field agent sitting on the ground. He frowned as he approached and took in the scene before him. The younger man was sitting on the floor, leaning against his desk, his head lolling as he dozed quietly, a large number of folders and paper spread out in front of him.

Gibbs knew that DiNozzo often came in at night to work on cold cases, but his gut was telling him that this was different. On a whim, Gibbs knelt down and glanced at the folders arranged on the carpet. What was DiNozzo doing with personnel files for the past ten years?

Gibbs' musing was interrupted by the ding of the elevator. Tony awoke at the sound, and both men glanced towards the elevator. Gibbs straightened up and moved to his desk as McGee got out of the car. Tony quickly scrambled to put the folders away, but Gibbs noticed that he deliberately left one file to the side.

''Morning,'' McGee announced as he set his belongings down at his desk. Gibbs grunted in response, and sent the man a small smile.

''Morning, Probie,'' Tony mumbled.

''Are you working on a cold case, Tony?'' McGee asked conversationally.

McGee's question was greeted with silence, and both Gibbs and McGee glanced over at DiNozzo to see why he had failed to respond. Tony was standing over by the windows, the file in one hand and his cell phone in the other.

The agent punched in the phone number listed under the contact information for Viv. He waited anxiously while the phone rang, but was quickly discouraged as it went to an answering machine.

_This is Vivian Blackadder. I'm not available at the moment, but if you'd like to leave a message, please do so after the beep. _

''Viv, it's Tony DiNozzo. Call me as soon as you get this message. You need to explain what happened this morning,'' Tony said softly, not wanting the others to hear what he was saying. He turned around to see the other two agents staring at him expectantly. He stared back at them.

Ziva David was humming softly to herself as she stepped off the elevator. Her boyfriend, Ray, had taken her out for dinner last night, and she couldn't help but be happy.

Her convivial temperament turned to one of confusion as she observed the impasse that was occurring in the squad room. McGee and Gibbs were standing in the middle of the room, staring at Tony who was over by the windows. Tony was staring back at the other men. They were all silent, and no one seemed really sure about what was going on.

''Uhm, good morning?'' Ziva said hesitantly. As soon as she spoke, the tension in the room vanished, and every one returned to their desks, wishing her a good morning in return.

The rest of the morning progressed as could be expected. Tony did everything he could think of to avoid attending the sexual harassment seminar, and Gibbs stated that he would rather shoot himself than sit through one of those.

Unfortunately for the team, no new cases came in, and they were left with large amounts of time to complete paperwork. After two hours of wondering about Vivian, Tony finally decided to do something.

''I'm going to go check a lead on one of my cold cases. Phone me if we get a case.''

Gibbs stared at him suspiciously. ''You should take back-up.''

''I'll be fine.'' Tony was used to working alone, it wasn't always possible to have back-up when you were a cop. He expected Gibbs to argue, but the older man just shrugged and let him go.

Tony drove to the address listed in the file. Although they had been partners, he didn't really know that much about Vivian. Gibbs had fired her before they had the chance to connect. So Tony was still perplexed as to why Viv would phone him. He knew that she had friends in the FBI. Why wouldn't she contact them?

Tony pulled up in front of the apartment building, and located the correct unit. He knocked on the door.

''Vivian. Are you in there?''

There was no response. He knocked a few more times before trying the door handle. It was unlocked. Tony frowned, something was off. Most people, except Gibbs, locked their door when they went out. Drawing his gun, Tony took a deep breath and pushed open the door.

**And so concludes chapter 1. Please don't forget to review.**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Okay, so this website hates me, and keeps erasing my page breaks. I apologize if the previous chapter seemed to run together. I tried something different in this chapter, but I'm not sure if it will work. There should be asterisks in between, but if not, then there should be a large space. Either way, enjoy.**

**Oh, and entry #44 was released for MarbleHornets. Very exciting.**

Tony moved swiftly around the apartment, verifying that it was empty. The house was evidently being occupied, but it was absolutely clean. The bed was made, there were no dirty dishes on the counter, no magazines on the coffee table. It looked like a showroom for a furniture store.

DiNozzo stowed his gun and glanced around the living room. A small flashing light informed him that there were some messages waiting on the answering machine. He moved towards the phone, and pushed the play button.

_Two new messages._

_''Viv, it's Tony DiNozzo. Call me as soon as you get this message. You need to explain what happened this morning.''_

_''Vivian, it's Brian. Where are you? Why aren't you at work? Fornell is starting to worry. Call as soon as possible, okay?''_

_End of final message._

Fornell? Viv was working under Fornell? At least Tony knew that she was still with the FBI. It was a start.

Tony looked around. There was a small television against one wall, opposite a gray couch. There was a wooden bookcase in the corner. Tony took a closer look at the bookcase. The bottom two shelves were filled with novels, most of them classics. Tony recognized most of the titles. The next shelf housed a collection of DVDs and video cassettes. He had seen every single one of the films. The top shelf was the most interesting. It contained a few photo frames, and some ornaments.

Tony picked up one of the photographs. It showed Vivian and a man, most likely her brother, smiling at the camera. There was a dark blur in the background, bur Tony didn't pay it any attention. He put the photograph back on the shelf, knocking over a set of Russian nesting dolls.

Tony swore quietly and picked up the wooden dolls. Something rattled inside one of the dolls. DiNozzo frowned, and shook the doll. There it was again, a metallic clatter. He pried open the doll, and removed a small key.

''Hiding things, are we? That's certainly suspicious,'' Tony said aloud as he looked around. People didn't hide keys for no reason. Tony searched for the lock that would be opened by the key.

It took almost an hour, but eventually Tony found a locked box on the top shelf of the closet. He pulled a chair over, and quickly removed the box.

The key fit perfectly, and the box opened with a small click. Tony frowned when he saw the contents of the box. It was filled with tapes. There was a memory card taped to the lid of the box.

There was a small thump, and Tony looked up, startled. He wasn't really supposed to be in the apartment; his probable cause for entering was a little sketchy. He had no proof that something had happened to Viv.

There was another bang, and DiNozzo stood up to leave. Something was hinky, but Tony couldn't place it. It was just a gut feeling that he had. He didn't want to be caught here.

Tony grabbed the box and left the apartment. He closed the door and glanced around. One of Viv's neighbours was unlocking her door.

''Excuse me,'' Tony approached the elderly woman. ''Do you know Vivian Blackadder very well?''

''Vivian? She's a nice girl, but she's always coming and going at the strangest hours. I think she once said that it was because of her job, something about police work. Did you need to get in contact with her? 'Cause she hasn't been here for the past week, probably her job again.''

''I'll try phoning her. Thanks for your time.'' Tony smiled at the lady, and strolled down the hallway. Tony reached his car, and placed the box of tapes on the passenger seat. As he was reaching to put the keys in the ignition, his phone rang.

He dropped the keys and swore violently.

''What, McGee?'' he asked irritably.

''Uh, just checking up on you. Did your lead pan out?''

Tony glanced at the box beside him before responding. ''I don't know yet. I have to check something when I get back.'' He bent down and scooped up the keys, narrowly missing his head on the steering wheel as he straightened up again.

Tony glanced out the window of the car as McGee started speaking. He faltered slightly as he saw a figure. It appeared to be a tall, pale man, but he was mostly hidden by a tree.

''Oh, Gibbs wants me to tell you that if you are not back in time for the seminar, he will give you an excuse to miss it. I don't know what that means, but it sounded bad,'' McGee rambled.

Oh, right. The seminar. Tony peered at his watch. He still had half an hour before it started. ''I'll be back in time. Don't worry.''

He ended the call and started the car. He looked back towards the tree, but there was nothing there. DiNozzo shrugged. It was probably just a trick of the light.

Gibbs leaned back in his chair and observed the room. The woman at the front of the room droned on, unaware that no one was paying attention. McGee was staring intently at the woman, but Gibbs knew his lover well enough to know that he was day dreaming. Ziva was using her knife to clean dirt out from under her fingernails. Ducky was regaling Palmer with tales of his youth, and the medical student was enthralled. Tony and Abby had given up all pretences of paying attention, and were playing a game of hangman on the back of the handout. Even members from other teams were quickly losing interest.

''If you are being sexually harassed, the best thing to do is to assert yourself verbally. Tell the person that you are uncomfortable with their actions. Ask them to stop. You can also assert yourself non-verbally, by simply walking away. Sexual harassment is illegal, and should be reported...''

Gibbs was distracted from his thoughts by a small scuffle beside him.

''No, "acrylic" only has one "l". You spelled it wrong,'' Abby whispered.

''What? I'm pretty certain that there are two "l"s.''

''No, there is only one. Point goes to me.''

''What? Even if I had spelled it properly, you still wouldn't have gotten it. You were way off. Why do you get the point?'' Tony hissed.

''Because you spelled the word wrong. That's an automatic disqualification.''

''That's not fair. You couldn't even pronounce the word that you played.''

''Doesn't matter. I spelled it right, and I know what it means. Sfig-mo-mah-nom-ih-tar. Sphygmomanometer. See, I can pronounce it,'' Abby said gleefully.

''But—''

''DiNozzo, you're disqualified. Stop arguing,'' Gibbs ordered, hiding a small smile behind his coffee cup. Those two, along with McGee, could always make him smile, even though DiNozzo was also capable of annoying the heck out of Gibbs.

By this time, everybody was focused on the argument. The presenter had stopped speaking, and Director Vance was glaring at them.

''It's all right, Tony. "Acrylic" has always gotten me, too. There are just some words that you cannot spell no matter how hard you try,'' Agent Balboa offered consolingly.

''Ahem,'' the presenter cleared her throat loudly in an attempt to regain the focus of the agents. A few heads turned back towards her, but the majority went back to what ever they had been doing before. Satisfied that she could continue, the woman launched back into her speech.

With in five minutes, everyone was distracted again. Tony and Abby had moved on to Tic-Tac-Toe, Ziva was cleaning her gun, and McGee was asleep. Even Vance seemed to be losing interest. The door to the room opened and closed a few times, as various agents escaped to the bathroom.

Finally, the speaker finished her presentation, and glanced around the room. ''Does anybody have any questions?''

Almost everyone shook their head, simply wanting to get out of there. Questions would merely delay their escape.

''Yeah, I have one,'' said a familiar voice at the back of the room. ''Where is Agent DiNozzo?''

**In case you were wondering, a sphygmomanometer is a device used to measure blood pressure. I just really wanted to use that word.**

**Does anybody remember the sexual harassment seminar from the episode "Driven"? Palmer was so funny in that one. "Why are you touching dead naked people?"**

**Anyways, please review. Reviews make me dance.**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Thanks so much for the reviews everyone. **

_''Where is Agent DiNozzo?''_

Tony swivelled in his seat to face the person who had asked the question. When he did, he found himself face to face with none other than FBI Agent Fornell.

''It's nice to know I'm wanted. What do you want?''

''I just want to talk. Don't worry, I won't arrest you this time.'' Fornell smiled sweetly, and gestured with his hand for Tony to lead the way.

Gibbs watched this exchange suspiciously. Nothing involving the FBI was ever good, and DiNozzo and Fornell did not have the best relationship. He stood up to follow his agent, but Fornell stopped him.

''No need, Jethro. I just want to talk to him. If I charge him with anything, I'll make sure that you're present.''

''I thought you said you weren't going to arrest me,'' Tony said.

''Shut up, DiNotzo.''

Gibbs frowned as he watched the two agents depart. They were hiding something. Tony would never willingly go with the FBI. Perhaps it had something to do with the personnel records that Tony had been searching through, or maybe the cold case that he had been investigating. Or maybe the two were connected.

The rest of the team returned to the bull pen. DiNozzo and Fornell were no where in sight.

''McGee. Run this phone number for me.'' Gibbs handed his lover a piece of paper.

''Boss, this is Tony's cell phone.''

''I know. If you don't find anything on that, run his home number.''

''What exactly am I looking for?''

Gibbs just glared.

It took a few minutes, but McGee found something. ''Uh, Boss, Tony received a call from an unknown number at approximately four this morning.''

''To whom does the phone belong?''

McGee hit a few keys. ''Nobody. The number isn't in service. Gibbs, what's going on? What does the FBI want with Tony?''

''I don't know.''

''Thank you.'' Tony accepted his coffee from the vendor. Fornell led him over to one of the benches gracing the side of the walkway. They sat in silence for a few moments, sipping their coffee.

Fornell was the one to break the quiet. ''What can you tell me about Vivian Blackadder?''

Tony sighed. ''Not much. She phoned me this morning in a panic. It was the first time I'd heard from her in nine years. I also know that she didn't turn up for work this morning, but that's about it.''

''We went over to her apartment and heard your message on her answering machine.''

Tony decided not to mention that he had also gone to her apartment. They would probably figure it out soon enough. The two sat quietly for a few minutes.

''Why did she phone you this morning?'' Fornell enquired.

''I don't really know. She said she had screwed up. She was really scared. She didn't know where she was, and couldn't remember how she got there. She started rambling for a bit, then she had a coughing fit, then there was nothing.''

''She's missing. We have no idea where she could be. We weren't working any active case either.'' Fornell sounded tired.

''There's something else. I ran her name through the database when I got here. There is nothing. Every electronic piece of information about her has been erased.''

''How does someone simply disappear?''

The work day was almost over by the time Tony returned to his desk. Fornell had left, promising to keep him in the loop.

Gibbs spent the remaining twenty minutes glaring at DiNozzo, hoping that the younger man could be intimidated into speaking. Unfortunately, Tony had become immune to the Gibbs Stare, and had perfected his own stare, which he sent to Gibbs in return.

Gibbs hated it when one of his agents was hiding something from him. Although, DiNozzo was the only one stupid enough to do so. McGee always came to Gibbs if something was bothering him, mostly because they were boyfriends. Ziva had also come to slowly trust Gibbs. Even though DiNozzo had spent many nights sitting in Gibbs' basement discussing his feelings, if something hit too close to home, the agent kept it to himself.

The minutes passed with out incident. Tony was the first to leave, muttering something about a date.

And Tony really did have a date, with the tapes that he had found at Vivian's apartment. Tony stopped to pick up a pizza on his way home from work.

He quickly devoured four slices, and put the rest in the fridge for breakfast. He took a quick shower, and changed into some comfortable sweatpants.

Finally, he was ready. He put his phone on vibrate, and locked the door. Satisfied that he wouldn't be disturbed, he powered up his laptop, and settled on to the couch, the box of tapes beside him on the floor. He dealt with the memory card first. He peeled it off the lid, and pushed it into the card reader. It was filled with video files.

The first file had a time stamp of two months previous, at 08h12. The camera was set up in a car, sitting on the surface behind the dashboard, trained on an apartment building in one of the older districts.

There was a shuffling sound coming from behind the camera.

''Hah, Uno.'' A female voice.

''Damn it. I hate this game,'' a man said. ''Oh, there he is.''

A set of cards appeared on the bottom corner, as the man lay down his hand to zoom in with the camera. A middle-aged man wearing jeans and a dark coat was emerging from the apartment complex. He walked towards the car, and the camera followed his movements. The man stopped at a bus stop, and waited for the bus to arrive. He was glancing around nervously, seemingly scared of being out in the open. At this point, there was a slight tear in the footage, but it only lasted a second. The bus arrived a few minutes later, and the man boarded.

''Okay, he's on the W19 bus, terminus station is Southern Avenue,'' the woman stated.

Her partner zoomed out with the camera, and Tony could hear the jingle of keys as the man started the ignition. There was a dark blur in the upper right hand corner, and Tony paused the video. He squinted at the screen. There was a tall, dark figure in an apartment window, staring out at the camera. Tony frowned. That couldn't be right. Not _at_ the camera. How did he know it was there? Tony looked again, but his primary analysis was correct. The figure was staring directly at the duo in the car.

Well that was unusual. Tony watched the rest of the video, but nothing else stood out. The rest of the files were all from the stake out. The man left his house at 08h15 every morning, to catch the 08h19 bus. He always caught the same bus, and got off at the same stop. Same routine, every day.

It wasn't until the sixth video that Tony noticed a pattern. In every single file, somewhere in the clip, was the mysterious figure from the first video. It wasn't very noticeable, and it never did anything. It just stood there, somewhere off to the side. Tony re-watched some of the videos to confirm his suspicions. The figure was unusually tall and pale, and was wearing a suit, but was otherwise average. It was too far away to be able to distinguish facial features.

Tony got a piece of paper, and a pen, and recorded when the figure appeared on each file. It was very inconspicuous, and sometimes DiNozzo had to watch the file numerous times to find it. Most of the appearances were accompanied by either audio or visual distortion. Tony also recorded the type of distortion that occurred.

Finally, he reached the last file. It was the same scene as all the other ones. The two passengers in the car were playing chess, waiting for their target to exit the building. 08h15 came around, but the subject didn't appear.

''Check. There's his bus, but he isn't at the stop. He hasn't left the apartment yet.''

''Well, he went into the apartment last night. He's in there somewhere. Maybe he's sick or something. Phone Sam. Maybe he can get some audio inside the apartment.''

There was a small pause, as the woman pulled out her phone. She spoke into it for a few minutes before hanging up.

''Sam says that the apartment is empty. There hasn't been any audio activity there since the subject went to bed last night.''

''Maybe he's still asleep.''

''Unlikely. Something feels off. Should we go knock on his door?''

''Why don't we update Fornell, and wait for his opinion?''

''Fine, you can make the call. Last time I phoned him, he almost-''

At this point, the video went blurry. The footage was tearing in a few places, and there was a low buzzing. The screen abruptly went to black, and the footage ended.

Tony noted that the file did not contain an appearance of the strange man.

He ejected the memory card from his computer, and put it back in the box. He was a bit cramped from sitting for so long, and he needed to stretch. He placed the laptop on the coffee table, and walked to the kitchen to get a drink. He looked at the digital clock above his stove. Oh, it was 01h08. He had to be at work in six hours.

DiNozzo went back to the living room, and turned off his laptop. He would start on the tapes tomorrow. He put his phone back to ringer, and double checked to make sure the door was locked. Satisfied, he turned off the lights and went to brush his teeth.

It was then, walking towards the bathroom, that Tony made the mistake of looking out the window.

**Please review. Both encouragement and constructive criticism are appreciated.**


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